C H A P T E R 6

Policing: Purpose and Organization

OUTLINE
• Introduction
• The Police Mission
• Operational Strategies
• Managing Police Departments
• Policing Styles
• Terrorism’s Impact on Policing
• Discretion and the Individual Officer
• Professionalism and Ethics
• Ethnic and Gender Diversity in Policing

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to
• Explain the police mission in democratic societies.
• Discuss the five core operational strategies of today’s police departments.
• Summarize the typical organizational structures of a police department.
• Compare and contrast the three styles of policing.
• Compare the role of American police today in the post-9/11 environment with their pre-9/11 role.
• Explain how police discretion affects contemporary law enforcement.
• Summarize the importance of police professionalism and integrity as well as three methods for
building them.
• Describe three ethnic and gender diversity issues in policing including ways to resolve them.

Chapter Overview
Chapter 6 discusses several areas of concern to the police organization. These areas include the police
mission, operational strategies, management of police departments, policing styles, terrorism’s impact on
policing, discretion and the officer, professionalism and ethics, and ethnic and gender diversity in policing.
Chapter 6 begins with a discussion of the police mission. In general, the basic purposes of policing
include enforcing the law, apprehending offenders, preventing crime, preserving the peace, and providing
services. Crime prevention is the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of
action to eliminate or reduce it. Many police departments respond aggressively to quality-of-life offenses to
help preserve the peace.
The mission of policing directly shapes the operational strategies departments use to accomplish their
goals. Chapter 6 discusses the five core operational strategies of police departments—preventive patrol,
routine incident response, emergency response, criminal investigation, and problem-solving—as well as
support services. These operational strategies highlight how police work in a democratic society. Importantly,
this section also highlights the objectives, performance standards, and processes involved for each operational
strategy.
Chapter 6 also discusses police management. Police management focuses on the administrative
activities that control, direct, and coordinate police personnel, resources, and activities. This section discusses
the general structure of police organizations and highlights the chain of command.
Police departments have unique policing styles formed in response to community and organizational
factors. Three types of policing styles, developed by James Q. Wilson, are discussed in Chapter 6. First, police
officers employed in watchman-style departments are most concerned with maintaining order. These
officers possess a considerable amount of discretion to resolve situations. Second, police officers in
legalistic-style departments are expected to enforce the letter of the law, meaning that their discretion to use
a nonenforcement response is limited. Moreover, these officers are likely to ignore other disruptive behaviors.
Third, officers in a service-style department are most concerned with helping citizens rather than strictly
applying the letter of the law. These officers would be familiar with community resources and use these
resources to help solve community and individual problems. Many police departments are moving to the
service style, using what are popularly known as community policing strategies. Community policing is a
strategy that calls for police departments to develop community relationships and solicit citizen assistance in
solving problems. The current movement toward community policing has its roots in the police–
community relations programs advocated in the 1960s, as well as in the team policing ideas of the 1970s.
The next section of Chapter 6 discusses how terrorism has impacted the police mission of federal, state,
and local law enforcement agencies. Society generally, and law enforcement specifically, changed dramatically
following the September 11 attacks. The number of police personnel hired and organizational characteristics
at all levels of policing have changed. For example, criminal intelligence has increased in importance, and
intelligence-led policing is a critical component of antiterrorism efforts.
Chapter 6 also introduces the idea of police discretion. Despite the influence of departmental styles,
individual officers possess an opportunity to make choices when enforcing the law. When “working the
streets,” officers are not directly supervised by superiors, providing them with discretion to informally or
formally resolve incidents. The text describes potential factors that might influence the ways officers use
discretion, such as the background of the officer, characteristics of the suspect, community interest, and
pressures from the victim.
The author discusses key issues related to resolving many of the issues facing police departments in the
section on professionalism and ethics. Accrediting police departments, raising educational standards, and
improving the recruitment and selection of officers are changes being made to address problem areas of
policing. Statistics show that the representation of underrepresented groups has dramatically increased, but
women and minorities are still significantly underrepresented in law enforcement agencies.

Outline
I. Introduction
II. The Police Mission
A. Enforcing the Law
• Police agencies are the primary enforcers of federal, state, and local criminal laws.
• Research shows that only 10% to 20% of all calls require a law enforcement response.
B. Apprehending Offenders
C. Preventing Crime
Crime Prevention The anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of action to
eliminate or reduce it.
• Review the history of prevention efforts.
• Provide examples of crime prevention techniques and programs.
1. Predicting Crime
CompStat A crime-analysis and police-management process, built on crime mapping, that was developed
by the New York City Police Department in the mid-1990s.
D. Preserving the Peace
Quality-of-Life Offense A minor violation of the law (sometimes called a petty crime) that demoralizes
community residents and businesspeople. Quality-of-life offenses involve acts that create physical disorder (for
example, excessive noise or vandalism) or that reflect social decay (for example, panhandling and prostitution).
• Peacekeeping is a virtually limitless police activity.
 • Discuss the broken windows thesis.
E. Providing Services
III. Operational Strategies
A. Preventive Patrol
• Today’s dominant policing strategy consumes most of the resources of local and state
agencies.
• The purpose of patrol is to deter crimes, to interrupt crimes, to position officers for quick
response, and to increase the public’s feeling of safety and security.
B. Routine Incident Response
Response Time A measure of the time that it takes for police officers to respond to calls for service.
C. Emergency Response
• Probably the most important aspect of what police do
D. Criminal Investigation
Criminal Investigation “The process of discovering, collecting, preparing, identifying, and presenting
evidence to determine what happened and who is responsible” when a crime has occurred.
Crime Scene The physical area in which a crime is thought to have occurred and in which evidence of the
crime is thought to reside.
Preliminary Investigation All of the activities undertaken by a police officer who responds to the scene of
a crime, including determining whether a crime has occurred, securing the crime scene, and preserving
evidence.
• Review the activities involved in a preliminary investigation.
Crime-Scene Investigator An expert trained in the use of forensics techniques, such as gathering DNA
evidence, collecting fingerprints, photographing the scene, sketching, and interviewing witnesses.
Solvability Factor Information about a crime that forms the basis for determining the perpetrator’s
identity.
E. Problem Solving
F. Support Services

IV. Managing Police Departments

Police Management The administrative activities of controlling, directing, and coordinating police
personnel, resources, and activities in the service of preventing crime, apprehending criminals, recovering
stolen property, and performing regulatory and helping services.

A. Police Organization and Structure

Line Operations In police organizations, the field activities or supervisory activities directly related to day-
to-day police work.
Staff Operations In police organizations, activities (such as administration and training) that provide
support for line operations.
B. Chain of Command
Chain of Command The unbroken line of authority that extends through all levels of an organization,
from the highest to the lowest.
Span of Control The number of police personnel or the number of units supervised by a particular
commander.
 V. Policing Styles
A. The Watchman Style of Policing
Watchman Style A style of policing marked by a concern for order maintenance. Watchman policing is
characteristic of lower-class communities where police intervene informally into the lives of residents to keep
the peace.
B. The Legalistic Style of Policing
Legalistic Style A style of policing marked by a strict concern with enforcing the precise letter of the law.
Legalistic departments may take a hands-off approach to disruptive or problematic behavior that does not
violate the criminal law.
C. The Service Style of Policing
Service Style A style of policing marked by a concern with helping rather than strict enforcement. Service-
oriented police agencies are more likely to use community resources, such as drug-treatment programs, to
supplement traditional law enforcement activities than are other types of agencies.
D. Police–Community Relations
Police–Community Relations (PCR) An area of police activity that recognizes the need for the
community and the police to work together effectively. PCR is based on the notion that the police derive
their legitimacy from the community they serve. Many police agencies began to explore PCR in the 1960s and
1970s.
1. Team Policing
• One outgrowth of the focus on community is the emphasis on team policing.
Team Policing The reorganization of conventional patrol strategies into “an integrated and versatile police
team assigned to a fixed district.”
2. Community Policing
• Three “corporate strategies” guide American policing.
• The underlying premise of these three corporate strategies is that police organizations are
similar to businesses. The police are expected to respond to crime but also be accountable
to the public. Police administrators have different approaches to balancing these issues
effectively.
• Strategic policing uses innovative enforcement techniques to target nontraditional
types of criminals.
Strategic Policing A type of policing that retains the traditional police goal of professional crime fighting
but enlarges the enforcement target to include nontraditional kinds of criminals, such as serial offenders,
gangs and criminal associations, drug-distribution networks, and sophisticated white-collar and computer
criminals. Strategic policing generally makes use of innovative enforcement techniques, including intelligence
operations, undercover stings, electronic surveillance, and sophisticated forensic methods.
• Problem-solving policing focuses on addressing underlying social problems.
Problem-Solving Policing A type of policing that assumes that crimes can be controlled by uncovering
and effectively addressing the underlying social problems that cause crime. Problem-solving policing makes
use of community resources, such as counseling centers, welfare programs, and job-training facilities. It also
attempts to involve citizens in crime prevention through education, negotiation, and conflict management.
• Community policing addresses the causes of crime and aims to reduce the fear of
crime.
Community Policing “A collaborative effort between the police and the community that identifies
problems of crime and disorder and involves all elements of the community in the search for solutions to
these problems.”
 • Review Chicago’s community policing initiative.

3. Critique of Community Policing

• Problems include police managers unwilling to accept this new philosophy, additional
goal conflict caused by involving the community in decision making, resistance from
the police subculture, and unsupportive public officials.
Police Subculture A particular set of values, beliefs, and acceptable forms of behavior characteristic of
American police. Socialization into the police subculture begins with recruit training and continues thereafter.

VI. Terrorism’s Impact on Policing

• The police role in America began a new era because of 9/11/2001.
• Budget sometimes dictates the amount of engagement in antiterrorism activities at the local level.
• Review the preliminary results of the Taking Command Initiative to assess the current state of
Homeland Security.
A. Intelligence-Led Policing and Antiterrorism
• Information has been analyzed and integrated into a useful perspective.
Intelligence-Led Policing (ILP) The collection and analysis of information to produce an intelligence
end product designed to inform police decision making at both the tactical and strategic levels.
Criminal Intelligence Information compiled, analyzed, or disseminated in an effort to anticipate, prevent,
or monitor criminal activity.
B. Information Sharing and Antiterrorism
• A fully integrated national criminal justice information system does not yet exist, although
some are getting started and being piloted.
NLETS The International Justice and Public Safety Information Sharing Network.
C. Fusion Centers
• A new concept in policing, which pools and analyzes information from all levels of law
enforcement.
D. The National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan
• Provides specific steps that law enforcement agencies can take to improve information
sharing.
VII. Discretion and the Individual Officer
Police Discretion The opportunity for police officers to exercise choice in their enforcement activities.
• Factors that influence the discretionary decisions of individual officers:
• Background of the officer
• Characteristics of the suspect
• Department policy
• Community interest
• Pressures from victims
• Disagreement with the law
• Available alternatives
• Personal practices of the officer
VIII. Professionalism and Ethics
Police Professionalism The increasing formalization of police work and the accompanying rise in public
acceptance of the police.
 • Explain that a profession is characterized by a specialized body of knowledge and is capable of
some kind of internal control over its members.
• The Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and police training provide the rudimentary elements
necessary for the professionalization of law enforcement.
• Refer to the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics in the “Ethics and Professionalism” box on p. 205.
Police Ethics The special responsibility to adhere to moral duty and obligation that is inherent in police
work.
A. Education and Training
Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Program The official program of a state or legislative
jurisdiction that sets standards for the training of law enforcement officers. All states set such standards,
although not all use the term POST.
• Explain the importance of higher education to police officer training, especially in the era of
community policing.
B. Recruitment and Selection
IX. Ethnic and Gender Diversity in Policing
• Although ethnic minorities are employed in policing in numbers that approach their representation in
the American population, women are still significantly underrepresented.
A. Women as Effective Police Officers
• Women are extremely devoted to their work.
• Women see themselves as women first, officers second.
• Women are more satisfied when working in nonuniform assignments.

Learning Activities Utilizing

the World Wide Web
Other Web sites for organizations and agencies related to the material in Chapter 6 include:
Web Site URL
California Commission on Peace Officer http://www.post.ca.gov
Standards and Training
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) http://www.cops.usdoj.gov
Community Policing http://www.policing.com
Cops Online http://www.copsonline.com
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center http://www.fletc.gov/
New York City Police Department (NYPD) http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us
/html/nypd/html/home/home.shtml
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/